RUMPED, HIMALAYAN GRIFFON & SLENDER BILLED VULTURES

RUMPED, HIMALAYAN GRIFFON & SLENDER BILLED VULTURES

Subject : Environment

Context : Residents of Dhulijan village in Assam’s Tinsukia district this Sunday performed shradh (a religious ritual to honour the dead) ceremony for 36 vultures that had died last month due to poisoning.

Concept :

• 37 vultures belonging to three endangered species died in eastern Assam after feeding on pesticide-laced cattle carcass.
• Most of the 37 vultures that died are Himalayan griffon. A few are oriental white-backed and slender-billed vultures.

 Himalayan Griffon

• Scientific name: Gyps himalayensis.
• It is an Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae. It is one of the two largest Old World vultures and true raptors.
• Distribution: This species is found along the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau.
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) status: Near Threatened species.

White Rumped Vulture

• Scientific Name : Gyps bengalensis
• The white-rumped vulture is an Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia.
• Distribution : The white-rumped vulture was very common especially in the Gangetic plains of India, and often seen nesting on the avenue trees within large cities in the region.
• It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List .

Slender Billed Vulture

• Scientic name : Gyps tenuirostris
• The slender-billed vulture is found along the Sub-Himalayan regions and into Southeast Asia.
• It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.